In its biggest meet of the season to date, the Los Alamos Hilltopper girls track and field team scored a big victory.

The Hilltopper girls earned a robust 89 team points at Monday’s Albuquerque Public Schools Invitational, easily outdistancing second-place Eldorado and third-place Albuquerque Academy to win. The Hilltoppers scored in all but five events at Monday’s meet, winning four events along the way.

The Hilltoppers have looked all season like they will have much to say about who wins the Class AAAA in 2009, but does this win make them the team to beat?

“It’s hard to tell, just because of the way APS meets are set up,” Anderson said. “I don’t know what anybody else really has…You could go online and see who’s qualified. That’s an indicator. I don’t know who (Albuquerque) Academy had or didn’t have at this meet. I keep hearing St. Pius is loaded, but I don’t know who they had or didn’t have. But I think our top athletes compete well with their top athletes.”

Los Alamos’ defending state Class AAAA sprint champion, Amanda Trujillo, won both the 100 and 200 meter races against some top-contending Class AAAA and AAAAA competition Monday. Trujillo ran season-best times in both races — earning a 12.46 in the 100 and 26.48 in the 200 — to qualify for the state meet in both events.

Trujillo became just the seventh athlete to qualify by time for the 100 meters, although two of the other six are teammates Chase Ealey and Emily Weeks. Trujillo is the only Class AAAA girl to have qualified for the 200 by time.

“It takes a lot of the pressure off,” Anderson said of Trujillo. Being a senior, she’s got a lot of things in her mind...but you breathe a sigh of relief when you’re finally qualified.”

Other winners for the Hilltoppers Monday included Victoria Trujillo in the 800 meters and the Hilltoppers’ 1600 relay squad of Angelica Johnson, Michelle Earley, Amelia Weaver and Madison Ahlers.

In all, 20 teams took part in Monday’s meet, which was originally scheduled for Saturday but was postponed due to high winds.

Because Los Alamos was on spring break through last weekend, running the meet Monday was highly beneficial. Los Alamos had five or six athletes available for Monday’s meet that it might not have had Saturday, including Weaver, who filled in for senior Jessica Stokes in the relay events. Had the meet been run Saturday, Stokes might have had seven races in one day.

Victoria Honnell finished second in the 1600 meters but more importantly picked up a state qualification time with her 5:35.34 finish. Ahlers qualified in the 400 meters (1:01.78), Taylor Ealey made the cut in the shot put (35 feet, 5 inches) and Allie Glasco became the third Hilltopper to qualify in the pole vault this season (8 feet).

Anderson said he likely will juggle his lineup around for Friday’s home quadrangular meet. It could be a long week for some of his athletes who may go on to compete in Monday’s Marilyn Sepulveda Invitational.